This week was filled with quite a few unexpected ups and downs. On the 20th, I ran out of typewriter ink. I didn't realize how quickly I was burning through the ribbon with my quotes and daily letters. But I was okay. I order a universal ribbon on Amazon and it would arrive two days later. I'd made two quotes for a friend, so I was covered for the 21st and would easily resume on the 22nd. I decided that I'd just write my letter for the 21st on my computer and not let it stress me out too much because there was nothing I could do.
Then my ribbon arrived yesterday, the 22nd. The first thing my dad said when I unpacked it was, "That looks too big. Did you make sure it'd work?" Well...no. The word universal on the packaging made me believe it'd work. I was wrong. It was too big. After five minutes of literally ripping apart pieces of the machine and trying to figure out a way to make it work, I had to accept defeat. Two more days, I told myself. I just need to find a vendor who has prime. There were none. I ordered the correct ribbon and had to resolve myself to the fact that it would be about a week before I could resume.
But I broke down. I'd written my letter on the computer the day before and it hadn't felt right. The typewriter had been something I'd grown used to using daily, part of my routine. It was silly, I knew this, but it really was a coping mechanism. I was devastated.
Oh course, my dad threw out the idiotic idea that maybe Office Max would carry my ribbon. I asked him if he really thought a chain store would carry the proper ink for a typewriter that universal ribbons didn't work for? Parents are stupid sometimes and don't realize that the times, they are a changing. I drove to class, still crying and told myself I'd just have to figure something out. Buy another typewriter-maybe visit pawn shops, put an ad on craigslist...anything.
After class, I decided to call Office Max and was told they carried some typewriter ribbon, and what type did I need? I told the guy I'd planned on buying it based on looks and would be in soon. After a miscommunication with the sales guy about what I wanted (he thought I wanted to buy the $150 typewriter, not just ribbon) I found the ribbon section. There it was. Mecca.
My dad had been right. No real surprise there. So, that is why there are two pictures for the 22nd. The first one is post-meltdown, pre-ribbon when I decided I would use the old ribbon to create quotes or posts or something...I hadn't exactly worked out the details at that point. The second picture is the authentic one. Feel free to look back at the intro, week 1, or week 2!
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| January 17 |
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| January 18 |
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| Janaury 19 |
Good advice for life in general.
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| January 20 |
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| January 21 |
This might be the first picture of a quote taken outside of my house (a majority are taken in my bedroom). I brought it to work to send out, to the same friend who requested the January 20th quote by Whitman, so I decided to share it attached to one of the many poms I have hanging from the library ceiling.
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| January 22 |
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| January 22 |
As I wind down to the end of January, I don't know if I see this project continuing or evolving or just finishing. I guess I won't really know until February 1st.
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